Phobia
by Sheainwa
Summary: Everyone has childish fears. Some are no more than a shiver when the lights flicker out. While others are crippling, to the point of insanity. People try to hide it and keep a bold face. But in the end, it will still be there and no matter how deep you dig to get rid of it, the fear is always just a little bit deeper than you can reach.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok. Hi. First story (on this website). I've been a lurker for daft to long. So sit back and enjoy the story ( I hope).**

The food only came once every four days. The water came every other day. It was barely enough to keep him alive. But it kept him hanging on. Everyday the people, who insisted he call them 'Mother' and 'Father', entered his small cell and pounded their fists down on him until he was gasping for air or unconscious. They occasionally brought their knives, but only when he had upset them or they came home drunk.

Then they left, laughing. And he was alone. Alone, covered in his own blood. Alone, with his blonde hair plastered to his face with sweat and grime. Alone, with only his mind to keep him company. Miheal could handle the beatings and the lack of food, but being left with only his thoughts terrified him.

Miheal was scared of the hallucinations. Every night, after his parents left, the dreams and hallucinations came out to get him. They laughed at him and whispered, yanked his hair and told him how worthless he truly was. They told him he was unwanted, ugly, useless, and hated, all of things his parents had ever said to him were thrown back at him all at once. At barely six years old, what was Miheal to do but believe them?

But one night, the beatings got worse. For the first time he screamed and begged and pleaded. But still, his parents just laughed and continued to hurt him. They were slowly pushing him over the brink of death. His breathing was getting shallower and the knife his father held was cutting deeper and deeper. Then they were gone, and he was alone again, fading out of consciousness.

The blue and red lights shined through Miheal's small window, that night. A loud siren rang in his ears and jerked him to attention. Yells were heard from outside his door and his doorknob rattle as someone tinkered with the lock. A burly man burst in to the room and Miheal could see his parents in the back round, handcuffed.

"Are you Miheal Keehl?" The man asked carefully and slowly, as if he spoke too loud, Miheal would shatter. Dizzy from blood loss, Miheal nodded.

"Paul, I got the boy. he ain't gonna last long at this rate, though."The man yelled, over his shoulder, and picked him up, gently. He could feel himself being carried out into the fresh air and to a car with flashing lights, despite the pleads an shouts of his parents.

"Ok, Miheal, you're gonna have to sit in the back. There'll be another boy about your age. He just lost his parents, maybe you two will be friends." The man, carrying him said softly. Once again, Miheal just nodded as he was placed into a car. He turned around, to be face-to-face with a little red headed boy.

.•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•.

Mail's first memory is of his mother. He must have been three at the time. Her curly red hair is hanging in her face, as she leans down to praise him, after had fixed the computer when even a few professional had said it was broken beyond repair.

"Mail, you did well, today", she smile down, "You're such a perfect little boy, aren't you? Everything you do is do perfect. Mommy loves her perfect little boy."

Mail supposed that was when it began. After that, he tried to make the things he did as good as possible. But it grew into more than that. Soon everything Mail did had to be perfect. From simply brushing his hair to fixing the computer. If it wasn't perfect it wasn't good enough.

By the time he was four and a half, it had escalated to the point if something was not perfect, it terrified him. It became a phobia, fear of the imperfect. Mail stopped going outside. The crooked trees and the uneven grass made him want to scream. So he isolated himself. His room was his haven and video games were his life. He could control the video games and make a perfect world. It worried his parent but they let Mail do as he pleased, claiming it was only a phase.

Mr. Jeevas was important man in the business world and wasn't above sinking to not-so-legal tactics. So when Mail came home one day, and his parents were on the floor both with bullet holes in their foreheads, it didn't surprise him. But it did bother him, the blood on the floor was unevenly spread around the bodies and his parents limbs were tangled together at rather odd angles. The whole scene was so... imperfect.

After a few hours, the police arrived at the scene. Stepping into the house they saw a completely different sight than Mail had seen only a while ago. Mr. and Mrs. Jeevas were laying next to each other on the floor, hands folded on their chests, in a perfect circle of their own blood. Mail was found on his room playing his video games, seemingly oblivious to the mess downstairs.

"Ahem," A police officer tried to get Mail's attention, "You are Mail Jeevas, correct?"

Mail grunted in response.

"Umm, I am here with the police force."

Grunt.

"A neighbor had called, they had heard screams and cries."

Grunt.

"We'll have to take you into to custody." The police officer said, expecting a grunt as a response.

"What?! What did I do?!" Matt said very obviously listening, now.

"Well, your parents have been murdered..." The officer paused, waiting for tears or a reaction or anything really, getting none, he just continued, "And right now you are a suspect, seeing as you are the only one in the house and you would have to cross their bodies to get up here."

A series of clicks and a few muttered swears broke the silence of the room, which had been just a bit to awkward for the police officer. Matt turned to look at him.

"Aw, goddammit, you made lose my game, and yeah I know my parents are dead. But I didn't do it, I just cleaned the mess up. Do you know how much blood that is? I'll tell you, a friggin' lot of blood." Matt said, before going back to mashing buttons on his controller to his game.

The police officer visibly winced. How could this kid (what was he? Six?), first start swearing, then talk about cleaning up his parents murder without even showing a hint of emotion.

"Regardless, we still need to take you into custody."

"Aw, whatever," Matt closed his eyes, looked away and held out his hands, dramatically, "Cuff me."

Once again, the officer was shocked. This kid was a freak. Just acting like nothing is wrong, having no reaction to his parent's death, and the treating this whole thing as a joke. Thankfully, one of his buddies called from downstairs.

"Paul, we got a report of screams and cries from a house on Filera Street. Hurry up, and bring the kid." Now it was Paul's turn to swear under his breath. Why couldn't this town get more police officers?

"C'mon Mail, we got to go somewhere, you'll even get to ride in the cop car." Paul bribed. To his surprise, Mail was out the door and in the car before he could even get downstairs. He got in the car to see Mail in the back seat, buckled in and ready. They sped off.

"Sweet," Mail smiled, "This is so much better than my boring house."

After about ten minutes Paul heard whimpers coming from the backseat, he looked back to check on Mail, to see him squirming around. He looked ready to cry. He pickled at the seats and began to press on the walls of the car, like he was trying to get out.

"Mail, is something wrong?" The officer asked carefully.

"I-it's so w-wrong," Mail stuttered, " L-look at the stains a-a-and the s-seat. It's w-wrong I have to f-fix it. IT'S NOT PERFECT!" Mail was nearly in hysterics.

"M-mail, we are almost there. Just close your eyes." Paul tried to calm him down. Mail was still whimpering quietly, but it seemed to work, as he started to breath evenly, again.

Paul exited the car to go in to the house, that apparently belong to the Keehls, Mail noted. He tried to calm down. He pictures himself safe in his room. His nice clean organized room. He sighed, at least his thoughts were perfect.

Mail snapped back into attention. Paul was back and carrying something. Mail could make out yellow and black, but that was it. But when Paul set the thing in the seat next to him, he realized that it was a boy. A boy, who looked so fragile, like a doll. A boy with fire burning behind his cerulean eyes, like a wildfire. A perfect boy.

.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.

**Ok. Umm, this idea would not leave me alone. Soooooo please review, follow, favorite, I even like flames (those will be use to burn down the SPK). I forgot to do this at the top so; Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. Never have, never will. :*(**


	2. Chapter 2

**Whoooo! I feel so loved, I got reviews and favorites and everything. I just felt fabulous. By the way, in this chapter Mello will be OOC. But that's just because he hasn't developed into his awesomeness yet.**

**Disclaimer: still don't own it... **

.•*•.•*.•*•.*•.•*•.•*•.•*.•*•.

An awkward silence fell over the two boys. Mail, in shock, staring at the beaten boy in front of in, wondering how someone could be so perfect. Miheal, in fear, because the only time he had been stared at like that was before they hit him. So they stayed like that, Mail staring and Miheal trying to make himself as small as possible. Until the silence was broken by one of the officers.

"So, uh, boys, you're going to have to stay at the police department for tonight. Tomorrow we will work on finding an orphanage for the two of you to stay at."

This snapped them out of it. Mail nodded, without a word. But Miheal spoke up, quietly.

"Um, I-I'm so-sorry. But I d-don't want to, um, go to an or-orphanage," he said, while looking nervous and fiddling with his thumbs, "Mother and F-Father probably w-want me home. And if I get home s-soon the punishment won't be s-so bad."

The police officer looked dumbfound, "Miheal, you are Miheal, right? Well, you don't have to go home anymore. Those people won't hurt you anymore. So don't worry."

Suddenly the pieces clicked into place for Mail. He was abused. That explained the bruises that marred his perfect complexion and why he was so nervous. Mail felt awful, or at least he thought he did, he wasn't sure, emotions were rather new to him.

Miheal nodded and gasped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Mail saw Miheal's pain and wanted ti o comfort him in any way he can. He smiled at the scared boy, Miheal almost pulled away, but the comforting air of the redhead distracted him. Mail's eyes widened as he remembered something, he dug through his pocket, and pulled out a small bar of chocolate.

"Ah, here," he said, then grinned sheepishly, "Sorry if its a bit melted, it's been in my pocket all day."

Miheal carefully unwrapped it

and took a small bite. He let out a noise of surprise.

"It-it's so good," he whispered in awe. He quickly devoured the rest of it moaning at the taste and whimpering a bit once it was gone.

That seemed to break the ice. Mail couldn't help it, he began to laugh. After staring at him in confusion for a moment, Mail joined in with his own softer, more hesitant giggles. A sound Mail decided he liked. The boys were soon laughing in the backseat for almost no reason. Paul and the other officer gave each other a worried glance. Weren't kids in their situation supposed to be crying? But they left them alone, these kids were obviously different.

The drive to the police station was short and the boys were exhausted by the end of it. They clamored out of the car and into the building. They pushed past the doors and were led to a back room with two small cots and blankets. The officers left the room after showing the boys where the bathroom was and whatnot. The boys laid down and began to get ready for bed.

"Hey, M-mail?"

"Yes, Miheal?"

"I'm s-sorry for asking. B-but what happened to y-your parents?"

"Oh, don't be sorry, Miheal. Well I came home from kindergarten, it's an awfully boring place by the way, and they were on the floor, dead. They were bleeding all over everything. It was filthy in the house. So I cleaned up the blood, made the house look nice and went to play my video games." Mail replied with a shrug, as if it was a daily occurrence. Miheal, on the other hand, was sniffling and holding back tears.

"I'm s-sorry. It's h-horrible you had to see th-that."

"First off, please stop apologizing! And it wasn't that bad, I mean, I was just fixing the imperfections."

A long moment of silence filled the room. Mail stared up at the ceiling, fingers itching for a video game. While, Miheal seemed to be struggling to get the words out of his mouth.

"Uh, Mail, do y-you think I-I'm like that? An im-imperfection?"

"Miheal! Why would you think that?" Mail said, shocked that someone so beautiful would doubt themselves.

"...They told me..." Miheal said reluctantly.

"Who?!"

"The bad guys," Miheal said as he began to cry, "Th-they tell me h-horrible things. Th-that I'm u-ugly an worthless! I was st-stuck with them in that room!"

Mail rolled over an crawled out of his cot. Small feet padded across the cold floor, as he made his way to Miheal. He sat on the bed and leaned down so he could whisper to him. "No. Miheal you are... _perfect_."

For some reason, that made Miheal shiver. "Mail... Please, I'm scared. Don't leave me alone."

Mail wordlessly crawled into bed with him. They cuddled up against each other and fell asleep. Mail's arms wrapped around Miheal's body, with Miheal's head pressed against his chest.

The next morning they woke up to the voice of the Paul, the police officer from the night before.

"Mail, Miheal, someone is here for you. He has a special proposition."

The boys walked out to the main room. An odd man stood there, his hair tangled and looking hopeless, with bags under his eyes that contrasted with his pale skin giving him a panda-look.

"Hello, I am L..."

.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.*•.

**Whaaaaaa! Chapter 2 done. I will try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Ok so that is it for now!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Whoohoo! Third chapter! Thank you to all my lovely reviewers, favoritors (is that a word?) and alerters! I love the way this chapter came out, and I seriously hope you guys do to!**

** Disclaimer: Do you really think Matt and Mello would be dead if I owned Death Note? Really?**

The man stood hunched over in the center of the room.

"I am here for Mail Jeevas."

"What?" Mail piped up, "Why me?"

" According to your test scores and ability with computers and technology of the sort, I feel you will be a fine addition to Wammy's House for Extraordinary Children." L explained.

"Wammy's House?" Echoed Mail,

"Yes, a house for genius orphaned children. Much like yourself."

"Sooooooo... You want me. To come with you. A perfect stranger. Who might pull me into a car and rape me?" Mail said, slowly like he was explaining it to an idiot, pausing occasionally to make sure L was following.

"While I will do nothing of the sort, yes I would like you to come with me."

"Who do you think you are anyways? I have never even heard of you before and you come in here spouting nonsense about being an 'L', or something. News flash! L is a letter not a name."

Paul whacked Mail lightly on the shoulder, "Mail! L is an extraordinary detective, who has helped the police on a number occasions. You should not be rude to him...Or accuse him of rape," he added as an afterthought.

"Fine, fine. So **'L**' what are you gonna do? Put me in your rapist car... Er... I mean nice vehicle, and take me captive to this Wammy's place?" Mail said, obviously annoyed about being called rude.

" While I will not force you to come with me, I would appreciate your decision rather quickly." L said, in monotone.

Mail felt all the eyes in the room instantly turn to him, waiting. To be honest, Mail thought a house for geniuses sounded great, he could learn more about computers and not deal with those idiots in his current school, but something was holding him back. He felt a squeeze on his hand and remembered Miheal standing next to him.

"Nope," Mail said in his cheeky manner, "I won't go. You can't make me. Besides, orphaned smart kids can't be that hard to find."

"Quite the opposite, actually, you could be the only new addition to Wammy's for a few years. Are you sure there isn't anything that we could do to aid your decision?"

"Hmm,". Mail pretended to think," Yes actually! I want Miheal. I won't go without him." Mail held the hand that was gripping Miheal's up, as if to prove he wouldn't let go of him.

Paul, the police officer, stared in shock. Still wondering what was wrong with this boy. He gets an amazing offer and declines, for a kid he met yesterday?! He must have some serious issues.

"I'm afraid I can not allow that Mail. Nobody but a genius is allowed into Wammy's. I any guarantee that a normal orphanage you two would be together, either."

He just shrugged, "Okay then, whatever you want, but you know that orphaned geniuses only come around so often. It would be shame, it could be years until you get a new addition to Wammy's." He said, mocking L.

Everyone in the room was shocked. Nobody ever even got to see L and here was a six year old boy, talking back to him. A small sniffle was heard and Mail instantly turned to Miheal. Tears were streaming down his face.

"Please, Mail, you really need to go. I-I don't want to h-hold you back." Miheal started to cry.

"No, I won't go without you. I won't leave you alone, you will never be alone again. I promise."

Miheal was sobbing, when Mail said that. Mail turned to glare at L, as if trying to say 'I blame you, you made him cry,' before giving L the middle finger. Again everyone in the room was in shock. This kid is six, right?! L sighed, this was very difficult and L didn't like to change his mind, but he gave in.

"Alright, Mail, Miheal may reside at Wammy's house as our honorary guest. Now if you two could follow me, Mr. Wammy is waiting in the car."

Miheal and Mail scrambled out of the police station and into the car, parked out front. An elderly man, Mr. Wammy they presumed, was waiting in the front seat. He smiled kindly as they got in and started the car up. Miheal and Mail waved at Paul and the other officer, who were shaking their heads, glad to be rid of the blonde and redhead.

The ride to Wammy's was a heavy hour away and Miheal and Mail fell asleep, leaning on each other. The sound of Mr. Wammy's voice awoke them.

"Boys, we are almost there. I want you to remember that at Wammy's you will be competing to succeed L. To do this, you must use a fake name. Mail you shall become Matt and Miheal will be Mello. Understood?"

The boys nodded in agreement and spent the next ten minutes laughing and calling each other by their new names.

"Mello... Melloyello, Mels, Melly..." Mail- now Matt- started to sing.

"Matt, Matt , Matty, Mattical, Mattsy.." Mello countered, trying to out-yell him.

In the end, they were laughing until they were out of breath in the backseat, while Mr. Wammy smiled back at them. A large old church appeared out Mello's window and they both leaned to get a closer look as the car pulled to stop. It was silent and nobody was in the yard. L looked back at them, sensing their confusion.

"Currently, there are only twelve other members of Wammy's House. The two of you make fourteen, so with that few, there will not be too much interaction," he informed them.

They crawled out of the car and followed L into the house. They walked through winding halls until they reached an office. L began to talk to the man inside, who he called Roger. After being introduced, L left quickly and quietly, without alerting any other children. Not before bidding the two 'Good luck' and mumbling something about 'With Backup you will need it,' though.

"Follow me," Roger grumbled, "I will show you the house. Starting with the cafeteria."

As soon as they opened the door, they came face to face with two boys, older then Matt and Mello. The first boy was slouched, looking embarrassed and like he wished nothing more than to disappear. He clutched his arms tightly and tapped his feet, nervously. Adding these features to his messy gray hair and pained expression, to put it frankly, the boy was a wreck. The second boy, however, was his complete opposite. His jet black hair was flatter and neater. He looked relaxed and perfectly content. His posture revealed no tension and he was smiling, slightly. But this boy put Matt's nerves on edge, his red eyes (red?! Who had red eyes?!) had a hint of madness, like he would like nothing more than to slice them up.

"B, what are you doing here?! You know you have a lock-in suspension. You should be in your room!" Roger glares at the red-eyed boy, before turning to other boy, who flinched upon eye contact, "And A, I expect more from you, B has done this before, but you are number one. I expect you to set a good example." A began nodding, profusely, while B picked at his finger nails, obviously getting chastised was nothing new.

"Well, Matt, Mello, while they are here, this is A and B. A is ranked number one at Wammy's and B is second. Perhaps, they would like to show you around seeing as I am busy." Roger continued, without waiting for an answer, "Excellent, make sure to make Matt and Mello feel at home!" With that he turned around and slammed his office door.

"Ugh, he hates kids anyway. That's probably why he pawned this job off on us. C'mon A, these brats aren't going to show themselves around." B said.

A mumbled in agreement, and trailed after him. The rest of he tour was rather uneventful. They ran into other students, most memorable must have J and K, Janela and Keldon, who were attached at the lips, for must have over ten minutes. B laughed it off as if it was a daily occurrence and said they both had strong lungs. Although, a boy named D, for Dillion, was a close second, at first Matt and Mello mistook him for a girl. It wasn't hard, he was wearing a dress and a lot of make-up. They avoided the rest if he students, or rather were avoided, It seemed Matt wasn't the only one B made uncomfortable. Finally, they arrived at their room. Room 7.

B ushered them in. Mello was in shock, it was huge, by his standards at least, and had all the things he could ever want. He instantly ran to the couch and plopped down, bouncing a bit. Then he got up and began to run, playing with everything that caught his attention, laughing like the kid he was supposed to be.

"Wow," B whistled, "You got a hyper one to deal with."

"I will be fine," Matt said, chuckling at Mello's antics, "Well, thank you, B."

B's nose wrinkled in disgust, "Hey, do me a favor, don't call me B. It stands for Backup and I hate it. Call me Beyond, okay? It's my real name."

"But, Mr. Wammy sa-"

"Yeah, I know. But, hey, what can he do about it?"

"Alright," Matt said, hesitantly. "Goodnight, Beyond."

Beyond smiled, hint of insanity still lurking beneath the surface, and shook A back to attention. On their way out, Matt swore he saw B whisper something to A, before A blushed and quietly told him 'Not in public.' Matt closed the door quickly, not wanting a reenactment of what happened with J and K.

When he turned around, Mello was standing right behind him. He looked nervous and was fiddling with something Matt hadn't noticed earlier, rosary.

"Hey Mai-att," he said, almost saying his true name, "Thank you, for what you did earlier. You know, with L?"

"No problem, that's what friends are for."

"No really, it got me thinking. I want to prove I am smart enough to be here, that I should be here because of my intelligence, not because you wouldn't go without me. I have a new goal. I will be first, and succeed L." Mello said, sounding more and more confident and passionate near the end. If this was the way the shy boy acted when he was excited, Matt would cheer him on all the way.

"Then I will be by your side for every step of the way." Matt said, smiling softly.

He pulled the blonde into a tight hug and waited to be pushed away. The boy was still afraid of physical contact, right? Once he pulled away, he notice Mello looked embarrassed again.

"Um, Matty, can you sleep in my... bed, tonight, please?"

Mello was acting too cute. "Of course. Anything you ask." How could Matt say no? After all, Mello was the first truly perfect thing he had ever seen. And he didn't plan to leave him, anytime soon. He wanted to protect Mello more than anything else. After all, Matt had caught Beyond looking at Mello a little too long, before glancing at the knives, while they were touring the cafeteria.

**Until next time! Keep on reviewing and all that good stuff! Matt and Mello will get fluffier and fluffier if you do (or angsty, whatever you want)! I will try to start updating weekly, maybe. I don't know, my schedule is hectic!**


	4. Chapter 4

** Here is chapter four! At last! Sorry for the wait, but people kept reviewing and all of the other stuff. *Tear* I feel so loved.**

** Disclaimer: Don't own.**

Matt sat by the window, playing his GameBoy, or at least that's what it looked like he was doing. In reality, he was lost in thought. A year had passed since Matt and Mello had arrived at Wammy's house. Matt hadn't changed, his love for video games only grew, if possible. The biggest change had been in Mello. The once shy boy was now loud and abrasive, easily intimidating people three times his age. And, for reasons Mello would not tell, he had fallen in love chocolate.

The shiny black car, that was easily distinguishable as Mr. Wammy's, pulled up in front of the orphanage, snapping Matt out of his thoughts. The elderly man stepped out of the car, and walked around to the backseat and opened the door. After a moment of hesitation, a frail boy stepped out. His curly white hair hung in his face and he was covered with bruises, not unlike most of the children in the orphanage when they arrived. All of the the house's residents rushed to the window to catch a glimpse of the boy. The kids pushed and shoved to see this boy, questions like 'Is L with him' and 'Woah, what happened to him' echoed in the room.

Matt and Mello stayed behind, unsure what was happening and what they were to do. In the year since they had arrived at Wammy's and everything had gone to Mello's plan. Mello had quickly ascended to first, with Matt right behind him in second. While the others had been shocked and angry at first, they quickly found out that Mello was not one to be messed with, even if he was just seven.

Matt nearly jumped out of his skin as someone placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Beyond and A. Beyond kept his calm appearance, while A was still fidgeting and tugging at his hair. Matt and Mello had quickly made friends with other boys, even after they got over the initial shock of being third and fourth.

"Oi, you two want to go 'overhear' what Roger is saying to the new kid?" Beyond asked casually.

"Uh, B-Beyond, we-we really s-shouldn't!" A stuttered, uncomfortable as always. Beyond just smiled at him as if to say 'Oh yeah, you are definitely coming, too.'

"Yeah, I'm up for it." Mello said, ignoring A's protests.

"Sure," Matt adjusted his goggles, "That kid was creepy, though! Did you see his face? He was pale as a ghost!" Matt laughed.

"Like you have right to talk, Matt! I don't remember the last time you went outside!" Mello joked, giving him a playful smack on the arm.

The four crept down the stairs towards Roger's office. They hid outside the door, straining to hear as much of the conversation as possible. "Near...Fire...Village...Extremely smart...mute...fear..." They could only make out snippets of what Roger and Mr. Wammy were saying. The boy didn't seem to be talking, which was odd, seeing as most Wammy's kids are just full of questions. Just as they began to lean in closer again, the door opened sending all four flying back.

Roger's disapproving face glared down at them. Over Roger's shoulder, Mr. Wammy and the white haired boy could be seen. The boy didn't have any emotion on his face and looked generally bored, while Wammy looked a bit amused.

"Why am I not surprised? Backup...You just don't learn, and to bring Matt and Mello into your shenanigans... Tsk tsk tsk," Roger shook his head. They could tell what was coming next, he was going to make them show the kid around so he wouldn't have to, "While you are here, you should show Near around, maybe you can be his friend. If you keep appearing at my door like this, you might as well become the welcoming committee." Roger mumbled the last part, under his breath.

"Jeez, old man, you have no pity, for a poor curious boy. Welcoming committee," Beyond scoffed, "What do you take me for?"

"B! Just show him around,

before I have to punish you for disrespect and disruption." Roger warned.

"What can you do?! Put me in jail?! This place might as well be jail! Do you know when I last went into town?! I haven't! Ever!" B began to yell.

Roger just gave him a warning look. "Whatever, I guess we will be your tour guides. Near, right?" Beyond was still scowling. The kid just nodded.

Beyond led them them through the halls, making occasional comments or pointing to an important room. Matt tried to start up conversation a few times and was ignored by Near. In fact, he hadn't said a word to anyone since he arrived. Beyond wasn't one to be ignored, and this kid was getting on his nerves.

"Hey Matt, I have a plan to get this new kid to talk." B whispered in Matt's ear, before telling him the plan.

Beyond straightened and looked directly at Near. He stepped closer and closer, before pulling out a small knife. He cupped Near's face in one hand, while running the dull end of the knife along his cheek.

"Hey Near," he purred, "Did you know that I have a thing for grey eyes...like yours." Near didn't look affected in the slightest. Beyond scowled a bit before returning to his creepy smile. He leaned in close and put his lip to Near's ear.

"Too bad you're so young," he murmured, before looking him up and down, "I would so cut that up"

To the boys dismay, Near wasn't fazed at all, in fact the only one who looked affected was A, who was burning red with jealousy. They continued to walk the orphanage, stopping now and then for B to make a suggestive comment. They arrived at the rankings board, which they were going to pass, but Near stopped.

Mello took this time to brag, "I have the number one spot, here. Matty is right below me, of course."

Near made a small sound, before clearing his throat. In a hoarse voice, he began to speak, "I'm going to take your spot."

Mello looked shocked at the suggestion. "W-What?"

"You heard. I will be first."

Mello choked, a bit. His shock turned to rage and he buried his fist in Near's shirt and threw him up against the wall.

"No! No you won't! You little freak!" Mello's hand curled into a fist, and was about to slam it into Near's face, but Matt held him back.

"C'mon, Mels. Put him down. He won't take your place, you're way too smart." Matt coaxed. Mello's eyes softened as he looked at the red head.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Let's go back to our room." Mello dropped Near and turned on his heel. He and Matt waved to A and B before walking back to their room. They got to room seven, and threw themselves down on the couch.

"Matt... You don't really think Near will take my spot, right?"

"'Course not. He couldn't if he tried."

"Thank you, Matty" Mello buried his face in Matt's neck, hugging him tightly.

.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.

True to his word, a mere week later, the name at the top of the rankings board was Near's. Mello was infuriated. It had taken him two months to climb to that spot and some kid took it in only a week. Mello's need to be best turned into an obsession. He studied until he passed out, and it scared Matt.

But Mello wasn't the only one it effected. A had pulled back even further into his shell. He would barely even talk to Beyond, and B had noticed numbers above his head were dropping at a rapid pace. Cuts on his arm started to appear, and Beyond's mental state was getting worse. The kids all looked at the pair with pity as they walked down the halls, they could see how being fourth was affecting A.

Matt and Mello were walking down the long winding corridor that led to the ranking board. Mello skipping ahead, with Matt two steps behind. The rankings were posted and after studying all night, Mello was positive he would be in first.

The ranking board remained unchanged, though. 1st- Near. 2nd-Mello. Mello let out a stomp of frustration, and stormed over to where Near was sitting.

"That's it, you freaking little sheep!" Mello yelled, as a crowd formed around them, "I can't take it! You aren't better than me! You don't deserve first, when I have worked so hard! You don't even have any friends, I could beat you up right here and nobody would care!"

Mello picked Near up by his shirt again and was ready to slam his fist into his jaw, but he felt a hand in his shoulder, again. He turned and saw Matt, looking at the ground.

"Don't, Mels. Be the bigger person. You aren't like them." He whispered.

Mello slowly dropped Near and turned to Matt. For a moment, Matt could see the shy scared boy he had met a year ago. Mello just nodded, hair covering his eyes.

All of a sudden, the door burst open. Beyond rushed in. For the first time since Matt and Mello met him, he was a wreck. His hair was messy, his clothes rumpled with drops of blood on them, and his face was tear-stained. He looked panicked.

He barely managed to choke out, "Someone get Roger! I-it's A!"

**Dun-Dun-Duuuun! Cliffhanger! Ok, everyone probably knows what happened, but I can pretend, right? This chapter was so hard to write. I was pretty much trying my hardest to write anything, so I will understand if I get flamed for this. Until next time**!


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